This invention relates to a system for efficiently dispensing materials such as liquids. More particularly, this invention pertains to a system for efficiently preparing and dispensing liquids, such as solvents, of the type that are advantageously or preferably not allowed to come in contact with human skin.
Industrial and commercial firms frequently require the use of industrial solutions, including cleaning solutions, disinfectant solutions and solvents, for various purposes. In hospitals, for example, disinfectant solutions are often used on floors and other surfaces to assure a clean environment. Traditional technology for disbursing and handling these industrial solutions typically involves shipping the solution in bulk to the facility requiring the solution, and measuring out quantities of the solution for each use required. This system is disadvantageous in that it requires the shipping of a large amount of bulky, heavy fluid.
Advances in the field of disbursing solutions have lead to the use of concentrates dispensed from a central location for dilution and use in various locations within an industrial or commercial facility. The concentrates can be either in a liquid or a solid form. While the use of concentrates is an improvement over shipping fully diluted solutions, for large industrial and commercial facilities this system requires either multiple dispensing locations or repeated trips over large distances to return to the dispensing location for refilling individual dispensing containers.
The use of mixing bags having a sealed pouch or pocket with a concentrate is known, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,533,807 and 3,542,566, both to Wakefield. Other patents disclose systems in which two substances are kept separate until mixing is desired, as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,741,383 to Wittwer, U.S. Pat. No. 3,797,646 to Home, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,264,007 to Hunt.
It is known to break the seal between the two compartments of a dispensing bag by pulling apart the two sides of the bag. U.S. Pat. No. 4,711,359 to White et al., discloses a selectively openable seal line 54 that can be opened or broken by grasping the opposite sheets or sides of the bag. The sides of the bag must be pulled to break the seal prior to insertion of the bag into the bottle or container.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,540,089 to Maloney discloses a process for forming in-line bags suitable for filling with different mixtures. The bags are formed from rolls of film, and the bags, still attached to each other, are wound up in a tear off roll before being shipped to a bag filing facility. At the bag filling facility the bags are filled and detached from the roll and packaged for sale.
It would be advantageous if a system could be developed for more simply handling, disbursing and diluting concentrated materials. Such a system would preferably allow the user of the concentrated materials to avoid touching or contact with the concentrate. Further, such a system would also eliminate the need for those using or dispensing the solution to return to a central dispensing station for refilling individual dispensing containers. Further, such a system would enable the efficient dispensing of premeasured quantities of concentrated materials.
The above objects as well as other objects not specifically enumerated are achieved by a tearoff roll containing a plurality of connected but separable liquid dispensing bags, each dispensing bag having a sealed concentrate pouch and a mixing pouch, the concentrate pouch having a fluid tight seal separating the concentrate pouch from the mixing pouch, and the concentrate pouch containing a base material at a first concentration, wherein upon the introduction of diluent into the mixing pouch, and upon the rupturing of the fluid tight seal, the concentrate pouch and the mixing pouch will be in communication with each other, and the diluent and the base material can mix to form a solution in which the concentration of the base material will be at a second, lesser concentration than the first concentration.
In another embodiment of the invention, there is provided a system of dispensing premeasured concentrations of a solution at multiple locations in a facility. The system includes the step of providing dispensing bags at multiple locations in the facility, where the dispensing bags have a sealed concentrate pouch and a mixing pouch. The concentrate pouch has a fluid tight seal separating the concentrate pouch from the mixing pouch, and the concentrate pouch contains a base material at a first concentration. Upon the introduction of diluent into the mixing pouch, and upon the rupturing of the fluid tight seal, the concentrate pouch and the mixing pouch will be in communication with each other, and the diluent and the base material can mix to form a solution in which the concentration of the base material will be at a second, lesser concentration than the first concentration. A diluent is introduced into the mixing pouches and the fluid tight seals of the dispensing bags are ruptured to obtain premeasured concentrations of the solution, and the solution is dispensed.
According to this invention, there is also provided a liquid dispensing bag containing a base material at a first concentration, wherein upon the introduction of diluent into the dispensing bag, the diluent and the base material can mix to form a solution in which the concentration of the base material will be at a second, lesser concentration than the first concentration. The dispensing bag contains opposed flaps which when pulled in opposite directions can be spread around a container to attach the dispensing bag to the container. The flaps have a first label visible before the flaps are pulled in opposite directions, and have a second label visible after the flaps are pulled in opposite directions and spread around the container.
In another embodiment, the invention comprises a liquid dispensing bag having a sealed concentrate pouch and a mixing pouch, the concentrate pouch having a fluid tight seal separating the concentrate pouch from the mixing pouch, and the concentrate pouch containing a base material at a first concentration. Upon the introduction of diluent into the mixing pouch, and upon the rupturing of the fluid tight seal, the concentrate pouch and the mixing pouch will be in communication with each other, and the diluent and the base material can mix to form a solution in which the concentration of the base material will be at a second, lesser concentration than the first concentration.